UPDATE "LATE BREAKING NEWS!! We have just learned that Father Christmas will be visiting the Homestead at 4:00 p.m. each day of the Open House on Dec. 2 and 3! He plans to read and tell some stories for just a little while and talk with any children who would like to chat. He can’t stay too long and needs to go by 5:00 at the latest. It’s his busiest time of year you know."

The Bluffton/Pandora Swiss Community Historical Society Christmas Open House, “Christmas at the Homestead” will be held from 2:00-6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, December 2 and 3 at the Schumacher Homestead.

The public is invited to tour the decorated 1843 house while snacking on homemade treats and listening to songs of the season. Guests can watch food being prepared in the fireplace, hand dip a candle, play a game of checkers, shop in the gift shop and chat with staff about the history of the house and Swiss settlers' life in the 1840s. Guests arriving at dusk will be able to see the house lit by candles much as it would have been in 1843.

The event is free to the public, but donations will be gratefully accepted. The Schumacher Homestead is located at 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton.

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